Weekly Planner: More New Brunches, Hub 51 Art Exhibit and More

Dosa Frankie Brunch Bar at Vermilion

Indian street food takes the stage at Vermilion as part of the River North restaurant’s new weekend brunch program. They’re calling it their “Dosa Frankie Brunch Bar,” featuring two of India’s most revered street and brunch dishes. The more familiar of the two, dosas are native to South India. They’re thin rice-lentil crepes that get folded over traditional fillings like potato and coconut chutney. For brunch, Vermilion serves both classic varieties along with an assortment of eight fillings to modernize things a bit. Then there are the Frankies, a street snack popular in Bombay. It’s a kabab-stuffed grilled paratha with egg, pickled onion and chutney. For each dosa and Frankie, guests get to choose their pick of meat or vegetarian fillings, along with chutneys. All items arrive with sambar and a jicama-mint slaw. Fillings include everything from classic potato and tamarind shrimp to chorizo-curry leaf, spinach saag, tandoori sour cream and eggplant coconut. Vermilion’s Dosa Frankie Brunch Bar is available Friday through Sunday.

Italian Wine Tasting at III Forks Prime Steakhouse

Continuing its ”Sommelier for a Day" wine tasting series, III Forks Prime Steakhouse turns its attention to Italian wines for its next event on April 5. From 5:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m., attendees will get to sip their way through six different varietals, learning about each one and its nuances from sommelier Anton Licko. To accompany, chef Cedric Harden will provide a sampling of hors d’oeuvres. Once everyone’s made their way through the lineup, they’ll get to vote on their favorite to be featured at the restaurant for the month. The cost to attend is $20 per person and reservations can be made by calling the restaurant.

Sable Kitchen & Bar

New Menus at Sable Kitchen & Bar

There’s a lot to be excited about at Sable these days. With new chef Shane Graybeal at the helm, the esteemed restaurant and bar is rolling out a bevy of new menus, each filled with unique additions. First up, Graybeal’s new brunch menu features the likes of chorizo breakfast tacos, Nashville hot chicken, cracklin’ cornbread, loaded breakfast potatoes with harissa aioli and cauliflower salad with pecans, Gruyere, apples, watercress and sherry-shallot vinaigrette. Come dinnertime, newly elevated bar snacks like Green Goddess deviled eggs come garnished with de-hydrated country ham, winter radishes are layered on sourdough toast with partially churned “virgin” butter and crispy sweet potatoes get tossed in yuzu yogurt. For a little taste of everything, Graybeal’s got a new dinner tasting menu section that offers something for everyone at the table, with an option to get a sample of the whole menu for just $150.

Art Exhibit at Hub 51

Native Chicago artist Hudson Luthringshausen lands at Hub 51 for a special exhibition on March 31. The self-taught artist is relatively new to the game, having started painting in the summer of 2015. He picked it up fast, discovering a talent he never knew he had. And before he knew it he was collaborating with Dick Clark Productions and Lady Gaga’s team in painting her latest album cover for a Facebook Live event to announce her performance at the 2016 American Music Awards. Luthringshausen also has paintings of Justin Bieber and Kanye West, the latter of which was displayed at Los Angeles’ Kanye loves Kanye exhibit. The art exhibit at Hub 51 takes place all day March 31, so you can see for yourself.

The Chicago Firehouse Begins Brunch

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the Chicago Firehouse is back and better than ever, after succumbing to a terrible fire. Now the South Loop icon is open for weekend brunch, serving from 9:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Both savory and sweet, the menu has a little something for every craving, instantly reminding everyone what made the Firehouse such a beloved institution in the first place. Items to look forward to include chilled oysters, croque madame, stuffed brioche French toast, breakfast burgers, oxtail hash and Berkshire pork fried steak.